The Unknown Child
by Notsilveraura
Summary: Minako has earned Sesshomaru's love and trust, but will that be enough to protect them? Danger lurks around the corner now that Mina has unknowingly released a powerful enemy, and she may have more than just herself to protect this time around. Following 'An Exception to the Rule' and 'Trust Me: The Wyrms', this story completes the Sesshomaru x Minako trilogy.
1. Returned

Author's Note: Back by popular demand, I present to you the first chapter of the last installment to my Sesshomaru trilogy! Thank you for your continued support and immense patience, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as the first two.

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Minako stood by Sesshomaru's side atop the familiar waterfall that had served as their private little meeting spot so many times before, watching him stare up at the crescent moon while the water crashed below them. She couldn't help but to stare at her mate; how he seemed to glow in the moonlight, silver hair moving softly with the wind. She could hardly believe that this demon lord was hers to claim.

He turned, his gaze falling on her as she smiled.

"How did you get back?" he whispered.

"Hm?" she looked up into his beautiful golden eyes, but they changed, shifting colors as he stared wide-eyed at her.

"What did you agree to, Minako?"

Overcome by a sudden rush of fear as the moon and water disappeared around them, she stumbled back away from him. She began to fall, unable to see anything but those strange eyes when someone caught her from behind. They wrapped their arms around her waist, their smooth voice breathing into her ear, "Kiss me…"

Mina jolted awake, eyes snapping open and heart racing. Bits and pieces of her dream lingered for no more than a groggy moment. She shrugged it off—strange dreams were a common occurrence ever since she had returned to her home in this world. It seemed so long ago since she had been spirited away. Although Mina had been able to piece together a bit of how she came back when first confronted, the memory was hazy and soon enough faded out completely like a dream slips away upon waking. All she knew was that Alexia hadn't brought her back, and as a result, Vadoma hadn't shown herself since. On the rare occasion that it came up in conversation, she simply smiled and insisted that she was just happy to be back. Sesshomaru didn't seem concerned about those minor details, so worrying about it would be a waste of time. But truth be told, something about it really did bother her. How does one lose memories like that? Vadoma's words haunted her, but her attention was stolen away by her companions and she was quickly swept up by the day-to-day distractions of life. She didn't have time to dwell on it enough to really search for answers.

Mina could hear Rin and Jaken bickering, as per usual. She glanced over at her two friends, huddled over a fire as they cooked breakfast.

"What are you doing now? You're getting them all scrambled up, you silly child!" Jaken exclaimed.

"No duh, they're called scrambled eggs!" Rin laughed, glancing up as Minako stretched, "Look, Mina-chan is awake just in time!"

"Where is Sesshomaru?" she asked with a yawn, moving over to join the two by the fire.

Jaken straightened up, clearing his throat before stating, "M'lord had important business early this morning that could not afford an interruption by his loyal followers."

"So basically he told you to babysit," she joked, taking a plate of eggs from Rin with a polite thank you.

"I am not a babysitter!" Jaken exclaimed, snatching up his own plate and mumbling, "I'm not."

"Of course not," she teased, raising her eyebrows to Rin as the little girl stifled a giggle.

"Just you wait until the next time Lord Sesshomaru takes me with him and there's no one here to start a fire for you! Oh, you'll be sorry then." Jaken inhaled the eggs in one bite, making a face and mumbling about meat being a better meal.

Mina caught a scent in the air and her stomach erupted in butterflies. Leaping to her feet, she rushed to the edge of their camp just in time to see Sesshomaru stepping out of the forest. He looked down upon Mina fondly, arm wrapping around her when she sprung forward to hug him. Jaken scrambled to his feet, bowing down several times as he rambled.

"Welcome back, m'lord! Did your meeting go well? Do you have good news?"

Sesshomaru stared down at Jaken for a moment before shaking his head ever so slightly. Mina wasn't sure whether he was displeased with Jaken's many questions, or the fact that whatever business he had attended to didn't pan out as he had hoped. She had no idea where he went when he disappeared, but she didn't want to bother him by asking when it wasn't necessary for her to know. Jaken seemed to ask enough questions for the both of them anyway. Mina knew that if she asked, Sesshomaru would more than likely allow her to accompany him, but lately he had been sneaking off while she slept to attend these little meetings. Although Jaken seemed to know exactly what it was all about, they never spoke any specifics, and therefore Mina hadn't the slightest idea what disappointments the two kept exchanging glances about.

Just as it had with the last few times Sesshomaru had returned with this silent answer, Jaken's face seemed to fall, and he clung to the Staff of Two Heads with a groan. Rin watched the scene unfold, continuing to eat her eggs and feeding some to the bloated white cat that she had so affectionately named Minamaru.

"Finish your meal," Sesshomaru said, looking up through the treetops, "Unless you wish to be rained on."

At his prediction of rain, Rin scarfed down the rest of her breakfast and began cleaning up while Mina and Jaken packed up their bedrolls and few belongings, getting ready to follow their lord wherever he pleased. Sesshomaru didn't look at any of them, his thoughts far away as he waited. Mina snuck glances his way, wondering what was on his mind. Perhaps she would ask him later, once they were alone. He was always more open when it was just the two of them.

Once ready, the group followed Sesshomaru as he led them deeper into the forest, the trees growing larger and branches reaching out so far that the dense canopy kept them mostly dry once the rain began to fall a few hours later. They continued on and without being able to see the sky, Mina completely lost her sense of direction, but as always, Sesshomaru knew exactly where to go. She wondered how long they would travel before they reached their next destination, and quietly hoped that this time he would have good news for Jaken when he returned. He acted as calm and stoic as ever, but she could sense that whatever this recent business dealt with, it was troubling him.

When it became too dark for the weaker eyes in the group to see, they stopped for the night and set up camp in the driest area they could find. Mina waited up as long as she could, but Jaken seemed to be wide awake and it didn't seem likely that she would get a moment alone with her lord. Finally accepting defeat, she said goodnight and made a bed by the fire to keep warm, closing her eyes and trying her best to fall asleep. It seemed as though only a few moments had passed when she found herself waking as if from a troubled dream, hearing whispers from across the camp. She kept her eyes closed, listening as Jaken and Sesshomaru spoke quietly.

"How many more hags and hacks must we visit?" Jaken asked, "They all have given us the same answer."

Sesshomaru's voice was cool as usual. "As many as it takes."

"Why not go to the mountain? If anyone else knew, wouldn't they?"

"Hn."

"You are running out of time, m'lord," Jaken warned.

"I am aware of the fact," Sesshomaru snapped, causing the little imp to yelp.

His quiet outburst had startled Mina as well, and she sat up in a sudden motion. The two arguing across the fire looked at her, Jaken with a guilty look plastered across his face. It seemed apparent that this conversation was supposed to be secret.

"Did I wake you?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice quiet and calm once more. Mina nodded and he held out his arm, "Come."

With a blanket in tow, she moved around the fire and curled up beside Sesshomaru, resting her head on his chest as he held her in his arm. Jaken took their affection as a sign that the conversation was over and relocated to where Mina had been previously sleeping. She played absentmindedly with the hem of his shirt, letting out a soft sigh.

"My lord," she whispered, glancing up at him, "Is something wrong?"

He looked down at her, his golden eyes lit up by the fire. "It is nothing to trouble yourself with."

"It is if it troubles you," she mumbled sleepily.

His gaze seemed to soften, and he held her a little tighter, "Go to sleep, Minako."

She closed her eyes at his command, breathing in his scent as she drifted off into a comfortable sleep. She was safe in his embrace, from both the real world and her strange dreams.


	2. Sour Berries

**Author's Note**: Hey, still alive! Sorry for the cruelty in how long it took me to post the second chapter. Don't mind my whining, but beginnings are so awkward and difficult for me. Even so, the show must go on and here you have it.

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Once the rain subsided, the small group followed their lord through the muddy path leading out of the forest and onto a road cut through marshlands. Everything remained damp as the days passed, a light rain following but nothing bad enough to force them to seek shelter. Once they reached the edge of the marsh, Sesshomaru stopped, patted Mina on the head, and left them by a large rock formation in the clearing. Rin and Jaken wandered off in search of food while Mina set up camp.

The skies were grey and the world all too quiet. Mina looked forward to the warmth of spring. Even with weather like this, she still preferred traveling rather than being cooped up in one place, but what really made it worth the discomfort were the stretches of green meadows and the explosion of color from the blooming flowers, although they still had a few more weeks of this gloom before they'd get to enjoy all of that.

A sudden thought struck Mina: the beauty of spring also meant the accompanying Season. With Vadoma gone, this would be an issue. What would they do without her disgusting yet effective concoction? All this time since her return, and Mina had never once made the realization that without Vadoma, they would need someone else to make a potion for her. Spring had seemed so far away when she trudged down muddy paths or shivered in the rain, but with the reminder of the Season without something to keep her from _breeding_, it suddenly seemed to be approaching at a dizzying pace.

Sesshomaru loved Mina and preferred her the way she was, but would he feel that way about children, his lineage tainted by the human blood he despised so much? He would expect a powerful heir, one to be feared and respected. Someone to take over his empire. Even then, was he ready? On that note, was Mina even ready? And would they ever be? These questions had kept her up at night more often than the lost memories ever did, but they were far-away decisions, nothing serious to worry about now. She accepted her past as the past, but their future was still uncertain and she didn't want to make the wrong choices in the present.

And yet these were things that they did not talk about. Communication wasn't exactly a strong point in their relationship. Mina knew that that was a problem, but she wasn't without fault herself. Throughout all their trials and tribulations, they had learned to love and trust one another, but never really opened up completely. Mina remembered her mother saying that no relationship survives without proper communication. But perhaps they didn't need it. Those words of wisdom were no doubt true in the human world, but Mina had never really found a place in that society. She and Sesshomaru had their connection after all, right? Although Mina didn't know if it was normal to have such a closed-off connection to one's mate. Did all youkai unions involve one mate keeping the connection from constantly flowing their thoughts and feelings back and forth? It's not that she didn't mind it; she rather preferred having some privacy in her head. Sesshomaru rarely spoke, and Mina had always been more of the quiet type, so maybe her mother's rule didn't apply to them. They had made it this far, so what was the worst that could happen?

She cringed at her own thought.

"What is it, Mina-chan?" Rin asked, plopping down beside her, "You look like you ate some sour berries."

"Oh, nothing," she laughed. "Just thinking something silly. Where's Jaken?"

"We couldn't catch any fish, so he went further downstream and told me to stay with you." Rin grinned brightly as she added, "He said you're strong enough for the both of us."

Mina mirrored her smile, "I'd like to think so."

What a compliment coming from Jaken! Although she wouldn't expect him to say it again anytime soon, let alone to Mina's face.

With her spirits lifted from the unexpected compliment, Mina lounged with Rin atop the rocks, staring up at the grey sky and chatting idly about the rapidly approaching spring. Rin complained of the rain, and Mina explained the importance of it for the plants to flourish and flowers to bloom.

"And even then," she added, watching the dark clouds drift across the sky, "How could you appreciate the beauty of it all if you didn't have all of this to compare it to? If we had flowers and sunshine all the time, we would just take it for granted."

"Maybe," Rin mumbled, "But I don't think we need _this _much gross weather."

With a sigh, Mina closed her eyes. They sat in content silence for a while, until Mina jolted awake, startled by an unpleasant knot in her stomach. Looking around the clearing, everything stood exactly as she had left it. No danger here. The feeling had already begun to fade, but not before she was able to piece together that it had come from the connection. These waves of emotion were becoming more frequent, and increasingly worse. It made her worry. What was bothering Sesshomaru so much? She wished that knowledge accompanied the bad feelings that slipped through.

Jaken soon returned with just enough fish for a small meal. They ate in silence, falling asleep before their lord returned. Mina awoke suddenly, the vague memory of a nightmare on the edge of her mind before she realized that her head was resting in someone's lap as they ran a hand through her hair. She glanced up to see Sesshomaru staring off into the distance, his thoughts far away. She sighed and he looked down at her.

"I know something is bothering you," she whispered. "What is it?"

"Hn," he looked away. He was silent for a long while before finally admitting, "I am searching for something I cannot find."

Mina stretched out, turning onto her back so that she could easily stare up at her mate. "Is it something important?"

He nodded, but looked at Mina as though he wasn't entirely sure of his own answer.

"I hope you find it then," she said, reaching up to brush her fingertips against his cheek.

"If I do not," he interrupted himself, an odd look flashing in his eyes. "It is complicated."

It sure would be nice to know what all this was really about. Mina ached with curiosity, but she didn't want to press the issue. If Sesshomaru wanted to share what this mystery item was, he would have already told her. So she kept quiet, staring up into his face for a while before her eyelids became too heavy to hold open.

The next few days passed by rather uneventfully, the group going on with their routine of following Sesshomaru and resting only to get up and do it all over again. Minako felt as though she was beginning to recognize their surroundings, but couldn't recall from where. She figured once they got closer to whatever Sesshomaru's destination was, she would remember why it seemed familiar. In the meantime, she was growing increasingly concerned with the upcoming Season. Sesshomaru hadn't said anything about getting one of those disgusting potions from someone else. She wondered if it was an oversight or if he already had something planned. Perhaps she would mention it in a day or two, just in case it had slipped his mind. Sesshomaru seemed more closed off than usual, and it was beginning to bother Minako, especially with how distressed Jaken seemed about this mysterious object that they were failing to find. Mina didn't really want to bother him any further by nagging about preparing for the Season. Once he finished this current business, then she could talk to him about procuring one of those gross potions. She had the utmost confidence in him, and knew that he would figure something out.

Why was she worrying at all? With it being something so absolutely life changing, Sesshomaru would have spoken to her if this Season was a really concern. Her questions and worries about giving Sesshomaru an heir were still far-away things that she could simply push to the back of her mind and trouble herself with later. Mina shook her head as she reassured herself how silly all of these thoughts were. They didn't need Vadoma. Right?


End file.
